All's Fair in Love and War

she was a princess, he was an exiled orphan

what good can come out of their love?

disclaimer; I don't own Pokemon, nor any of the characters you see in this fic. Unfortunately: if I did, I'd make Ikarishipping canon. But it's not. So. Yeah.

prologue

It was nearing the beginning of fall, when the leaves turned shades of gold, orange, and red, falling to the ground in a blanket of colour.

The kingdom of Kyrin was no different. The Palace overlooked the sloping hills, bordered by a gently trickling brook. The village past the hills was small and quaint, though the villagers frequently keeled over from hunger, when the cruel winds of poverty descended on them.

Little did they know, the arrival of one new villager would cause the kingdom to spin into chaos.

Clip clop, clip clop

Hoof beats on earth.

Clip clop, clip clop

The sky was painted with majestic hues of orange and red, clouds drifting by lazily. Faint rays of sunlight streamed in through the curtains of clouds, the only touch of light in an otherwise gloomy setting.

"Don't you simply love autumn, Ash?" a feminine voice questioned, the first rider appearing through a haze of gray. She rode sidesaddle, mounted on a steed that was a picture of nobility, its head held high and proud with a sense of leadership. White gloved hands held the purple tasseled reins both skillfully and nimbly. Her intelligent azure eyes scanned her surroundings, taking in the land. "The beautiful sunsets, the leaves that blanket the earth in vibrant colours, the brisk wind that chills your skin to the bone."

"I'm not sure, I think I much prefer spring." Ash said doubtfully, his liquid brown eyes wide. "I like the feeling of warm raindrops falling on my skin. It feels nice, really."

The girl let out a chiming laugh, almost a dainty giggle. She clasped her gloved hand over her mouth as she laughed, out of habit. Her hair bobbed as she turned her look at the villager, who was now fumbling for his reins.

"Only you would enjoy being rained on, Ash Ketchum," Dawn said truthfully, her eyes glimmering.

"It's not a bad thi-" Ash stopped, shock taking over the boy's features. "Sorry, Princess Berlitz."

"Don't call me that when we're in the wilderness." The girl said firmly, her midnight blue tresses swaying slightly. "Call me Dawn. No more manners, just be yourself. If not for these regular meetings, I would have been driven to insanity with all the rigidity in the Berlitz Estate."

"Well, don't turn insane during your reign." he said simply, amusement lighting up his eyes.

"If I do, I'll make a new law, which states that all village folk with messy black hair, brown eyes, and go by the name of Ash Ketchum are my personal servants for eternity." Dawn joked, her azure eyes bright.

"That's not fair!" Ash exclaimed in indignation, but Dawn nudged her steed on the sides and she took off, galloping. Ash followed with much less flair, bobbing up and down in the saddle.

Dawn leaned back in the saddle slightly, and her dark bay stallion stopped abruptly. Sun, the Ponyta Ash was riding, was a scruffy chestnut Dawn had rescued from the gluemaker.

"Look, the cliffs of Esaria." Dawn whispered, admiring the steep cliffs that seemed to jut out from the ocean, piercing the sky like a blade crafted from stone.

Ash tugged on Sun's reins, and the pony whinnied in frustration, before reluctantly stopping. Sun seemed to debate the idea of throwing Ash off into the crashing sea foam under him, but he soon decided it was a poor idea.

"Man, those cliffs would give me nightmares as a ki-" Ash's sentence was cut off sharply as a low rumble sounded from behind the villager.

Hhhhrrraaoooouu...

There was no mistaking it. It was a Persian, and a very peeved one at that.

"We must have intruded on its territory!" Dawn gasped, her blue eyes wide in fear.

Sun was whinnying in distress, giving rearing slightly on her hind legs. Ash clung on for dear life, and Dawn quickly grabbed one of Sun's reins and made a soft clucking noise.

The Persian advanced, her dark brown eyes gleaming, a soft growl escaping her throat as she eyed the Ponyta almost greedily.

"She wants Sun!" Dawn cried, standing over the Ponyta protectively. Her stallion, Aristotle, pounded his hooves near the Persian's chest, and the cat slinked back, hissing and clawing fiercely at Aristotle.

Dawn dismounted quickly, understanding the look Aristotle gave her. The dark bay stallion lowered his head, his flames' intensity growing as the scorched Persian yowled in pain. Aristotle brought his rock sharp hooves down on the Persian's flank, before picking up the Persian with his horn and flinging her into a group of jagged rocks.

The Persian was furious, spitting and howling in rage. Her eyes smoldered in fury and defiance, a gash on her flank bleeding heavily. Aristotle was gasping for breath, a look of challenge in his eyes.

The great cat launched herself at Aristotle, clawing him on the shoulder. Terrified neighs rang in the air almost ominously, and Aristotle threw the cat off before sinking to a knee.

Dawn ran in front of her stallion, shielding him with her own body. Ash shouted unintelligible words, before leaping off Sun and trying to calm the frantic horses.

As they neared closer to the edge of the cliff, cornered by an raging Persian, the sea crashed into the rocks, each wave reverberating louder each time.

An arrow flew through the air, piercing the flank of the Persian. As it opened its mouth briefly in confusion, another arrow lodged itself in the roof of its mouth. The Persian female started screaming in pain, trying desperately to rid itself of the arrow. The first arrow fell off, a rivet of blood streaming down its leg. A swipe of its outstretched claws brought the arrow in her jaw out, though both puncture holes were gushing blood. Blood stained the great cat's once cream fur, until it was a striking scarlet colour, dying the grass under it a sickly maroon. It let out another hoarse snarl, before its eyes went glassy and her muscles loosened.

"Hah. I should have expected it. Typical royals, weak and defenseless." a voice startled the princess and the villager. As Dawn turned around, a shadowy figure of a boy appeared. He had fair skin and a handsome face, with long purple locks. He would have been quite handsome, if not for the grime and dirt that covered his skin and clothing. A bow was in his hands, an arrow still ready to strike.

"Wh...who are you?" Dawn demanded, her face flushed with fear. She watched the boy carefully. He was incredibly skilled with that bow, capable of killing the both of them silently and leave without a trace.

"What? Going to have Daddy put me in the stocks? Going to hang me?" the boy sneered. Dawn raised an eyebrow. Cheeky little bugger, she mused. "I've escaped death before, how's this any different?"

"Don't talk to Princess Dawn like that!" Ash shouted, and the boy merely smirked.

"My, Princess, I would have thought better of you. Hanging around such... common filth." the archer said calmly, his dark onyx gaze chilling Dawn.

"It's okay, Ash." Dawn put an arm in front of Ash, blocking his path. Her azure eyes were fixed on the boy before her, watching his every movement. "No, you're wrong. I only wish to thank you for your heroic deed. If not for you, I believe the Persion could very well have slayed us and the horses."

"No royal ever thanks a villager." he said icily, a sneer playing on his lips. "What's to stop me from leaving?"

"Nothing." Dawn said simply, her voice clear as she walked towards the boy. "But if you leave, you may miss out on a fantastic reward."

That did it. The purple haired teenager stared at the princess, before slightly dropping his head.

"What's your name?" Dawn questioned kindly. The boy looked up slightly, his eyes cold and unwavering.

"Paul. Paul Shinji."


A/N: There, that wasn't too bad, was it? This fic's been in production for quite a while, maybe three or four months. I initially wrote it like this, but thought it was too short and added a bunch of unnecessary adjectives to it. Then I decided the words were too flowery, so I rewrote it again. A royal waste of time. xD Anyway, I thought it'd be nice to post this in light of the actual Royal Wedding. Reviews, please? (: